Fantasy Free Me
by bethy-ht
Summary: When Riff Raff and Magenta are dragged along to a foreign planet, it seems to be the cherry on top of all of their recent misfortunes. But, you might be surprised at how a small mission to Earth can change your life forever. The back story of Riff Raff and Magenta, from Magenta's birth to death (and maybe a little more) R/R .
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so I'm really excited to post this, because it has been LITERALLY years in the making ( I started this nearly 2 years ago), and a lot's changed about this over the years. I probably restarted this about 5 or 6 times and I'm so happy that I'm finally posting this! There are just a couple things I should say about this story, though... for a start, because it's set on an alien planet, they don't measure time in months- basically what colour the moon is represents what month it is. If you ever want to know what exact month, the colours are based off of birthstones, so like if the moon is blue it's december (because of the topaz). Also, they refer to days as nights, since on Transylvania it's eternal night and stuff so ye... just a bit of a background so y'all don't get confused .. I hope you all enjoy! xx Beth**

Chapter 1

Magenta Vitus had been born on a simple, gloomy night. When she was born, the moon was full, and glowing a vibrant ruby, while a rare Transylvanian thunderstorm boomed angrily in the sky.

Riff Raff, her older brother who was precisely four years her senior, had remembered being sitting in his bedroom. It was very hard to concentrate on doing so when he had to block out both the sounds of the ghastly thunderstorm, and the sound of the voice in his head, booming concerns over this new baby. She had just been born not 10 minutes ago, and he expected to be called in to meet her any minute now.

Hastily, he gave up on his reading attempts, too lost in thought to even properly process sentences in the book. Riff didn't want a sister, nor did he believe that he needed one. He would much prefer the solitary, and it was because of this that he decided he hated the child. But, however, he was incredibly thankful that Transylvanian children were very advanced. Most could talk by the time they were 1, walk by the time they were 8 months and, the one Riff was most thankful for, there was less crying. This ultimately meant that Riff didn't really have to worry about looking after her for too long.

Just at this thought, the baby had begun wailing at the top of her lungs, probably because of the roars of thunder which rattled the entire house. Riff sighed, and buried his head into the pillow. A new sound to block out.

Soon enough, there was a knock on the door. Riff's father stepped into the room without his son's approval. What's the bother for knocking, then? Riff wondered.

"Would you like to come and meet your sister?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear. Sadly for Riff, this question could only be replied to with a 'yes'. A dismal one was delivered from Riff's part.

He followed his father into his bedroom, tentatively dawdling behind him as they approached the bed.

"Here she is" his mother said proudly.

Riff looked down at the newborn. She was still crying, but when her large eyes met his, she stopped and stared at him, transfixed. She let out a small coo, and reached out her arm. Riff took a small step back.

"What's her name?" he asked, staring down at the girl expressionlessly.

"She hasn't got one yet," his mother said, "We thought that you might like to name her?"

Riff nodded, although he didn't know why his parents thought that he would want to in the first place. He just didn't want to say no, as to not disappoint them. He continued to stare at the nameless child, deciding to name her after one of her features. Perhaps Emerald, he supposed, after the eyes she had inherited from her mother. Or Ivory, he thought, after the pale white of her clear skin. He noticed the rosy pink of her cheeks, and invented Rosie, but remembered a girl he didn't like with that name and shuddered. The one feature of significance which stood out above everything else was her tuft of bright red hair. Why, it was so bright, it could nearly be described as…

"Magenta" he decided.

"That's a beautiful name," his mother approved," Magenta," she repeated, staring down at the girl lovingly. His father nodded his head in approval.

"I chose it because her hair…it looks like that colour" he explained awkwardly.

"It does too, doesn't it?" his father remarked in agreement.

"Would you like to hold her?" his mother offered. Riff, unfortunately, could not say no to this either, as, even if he did say no, he would still have to hold the child at one point in his life, no matter how much he protested.

He held Magenta cautiously, as though she were glass, likely to break if he held too tightly. Her tiny, chubby right hand was enclosed around his big thumb, and Riff was in disbelief at how small she was. He never knew that anybody could ever be that small. But, the proof was staring up at him with her large dark green eyes, the corners of her mouth rising. Not even the booming thunder disturbed her anymore. She remained smiling adoringly at the person who was holding her, indifferent to the rain hammering down on the window. Riff never wanted the moment to end.

Magenta was already beautiful by the time she was 6 years old. She had long, curly ringlets of red hair, which had sadly lost its suggestion of being a bright pink. Her skin was pale and porcelain, contrasting with her beautifully coloured hair, and she had large, doe-like emerald eyes. She was beautiful, and she was hardly even 10. Could you imagine how beautiful she would be by the time she was an adult?

Riff had concluded that having a little sister wasn't so bad. Having someone else around the house while his parents were at work helped to fill the time more efficiently. He often told people that he wasn't fond on having her around, but it was clear to anyone that this was a lie. Magenta certainly never hid the fact that she adored her old brother. Everywhere he went, she would follow him, and he never let her leave his sight. They spent nearly the whole day together, often playing games or reading, or anything they could think of to help occupy their time. Their favourite thing to do was play pretend, particularly doctors and nurses. They would be in their room for hours, tending to their 'sick' stuffed toys. They had to use Riff's old toys that had been gathering dust at the bottom of a cardboard box, because Magenta was convinced that all of her stuffed toys were perfectly healthy.

This was only on days that Riff didn't have to go to school. Magenta often tried to convince him to stay at home, but he constantly stressed that school was important, and that he needed to go there. She didn't understand why, but he told her that she would, soon enough. Most adults told her this when she didn't understand something, and she didn't like it one bit. On the days when Riff was at school, she would be at home all by herself, since her parents were both at work. She never liked being at home alone, afraid of a burglar or a murderer invading the home, and there being no one there to protect her. Most of the time she invented hiding places around the house in case such a thing happened. But it never did. Every suspicious sound she heard, every creak in the floorboard, or what sounded like a footstep all turned out to be figments of her imagination.

When her mother grew ill, this changed. They would curl up in bed together, sharing conversations. Magenta preferred having another person at the house to speak with, even if it did mean that said person was incredibly sick and tired. She loved her mother, and enjoyed any excuse she had as to spending more time with her. She had to do quite a lot for her as well- prepare her meals (which were normally just sandwiches, as she couldn't cook very well), give her the daily medicine that she required, and make sure she was alright. This lasted for many months, and, despite what Magenta was told, she knew that her mother was dying. When someone was sick for such a long period of time, with hardly any sign of recovery, all reasons for hope deteriorated. Magenta was worried about what would happen when she went to school; when there was no one there to look after her mother. When she consulted her brother over the matter, he assured her that their mother was getting better, and didn't really need anyone to look after her. But, there was still disbelief hidden behind his eyes.

On the morning of her first day of school, Magenta gave her mother a massive hug, in some sort of strange fear of what was to come.

"Don't worry about me, baby," he mother assured, returning the hug and planting a kiss on her cheek," Have fun" she encouraged, as her daughter left the room.

"I will, mama" she replied, fiddling with the tips of her hair as she got to the hallway. She met her brother there, who handed her a bag. She strapped it around her shoulder and smiled at him.

"How do I look?" she did a little spin for him, sporting their school's uniform.

She wore a navy blue skirt well above her knees, with seamed fishnet stockings. A white, short sleeved shirt was loosely tucked inside the skirt, and a navy blue and teal striped tie hung slackly from her neck.

"You look lovely, Genta" he complimented, using the nickname he so often used for her.

"Thank you" she acknowledged, giving a small curtsy.

"Are you sure you won't need a jumper? It's could outside today" he warned.

"I have one in my bag if I need it" she assured.

"Okay," he wore a look on his face that suggested that she would definitely need it, "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded, butterflies floating uneasily in her stomach. He grinned comfortingly, and grabbed her hand.

"We're going now, mum" Riff called out.

"Okay. Bye, loves" she replied. Magenta could envision her mother's warm smile in her head.

"Bye Mum"

"Goodbye, Mama" Magenta called out.

And she nervously stepped outside into the cold. Magenta shivered and rubbed her hands together. Riff had been right-it was very cold. But a stubborn Magenta told herself to not put on the jumper which was in her backpack, to prove an odd point. It was dark outside, as always. The sapphire moon led their way, though, as they walked slowly along the footpath. This was one of the few times that Magenta had been outside the house in her lifetime, so she was goggling at her surroundings, her mouth gaping wide open.

"It's so beautiful" she remarked, her eyes lit up at the sights that encircled her. Riff Raff hummed to show his agreement, listening to the sounds of the tide dragging in and out of the shore on the beach they lived close to.

"Are you excited?" he asked, nudging her shoulder.

"No" she said plainly.

"Come on, Genta," he attempted to encourage her, "School's fun"

"I don't believe that" she disagreed, a look of qualm on her face.

"How do you know? You've never been before"

"You told me that school was important. Nothing important is ever fun" she mumbled glumly.

"That's not true" he protested.

"Name one thing that's both important and fun, then?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"School" he said, with a light smirk. She sneered at him, and his smirk grew bigger.

"It's not that bad, Genta. I'm sure you'll do fine"

She nodded unconvincingly, gripping onto his hand even tighter.

"Could you show me where I need to go?" she asked, her nerves creeping up on her as they grew closer to the school gate.

"Of course I will" he agreed, squeezing her hand.

As they got closer to the school, Magenta was shocked over what it was like. It was much smaller than she had expected. Not to suggest that the school was ridiculously tiny, it just wasn't ridiculously large either. Magenta had expected the latter, with hordes of students in the courtyard. The hordes of students she was correct about. What looked like at least four hundred students were running mad around the school's entrance. This excluded the students who were in Magenta's year-brand new. Magenta took extra care in spotting those people, as she and her brother made their way through the sea of uniforms.

They managed to find Magenta's classroom quite easily, as this classroom had been Riff Raff's when he was her age. The siblings stopped outside the door, and Riff knelt down to meet his sister's eyes.

"Are you okay to go in by yourself?" he asked her, with a comforting smile. She nodded and returned the smile. Although she tried, the smile didn't quite manage to reach her eyes.

"Okay," he kissed her on the cheek, "Have fun, Genta. I love you"

"I love you too"

He attempted to stand up, but she wouldn't release his hand. Sensing her nervousness, he knelt back down again.

"Genta… you'll be fine. I bet you that all of the other people in your classroom are feeling exactly the same way as you are at the moment"

She sighed unconvincingly, her eyes not meeting his. She mumbled something incoherent, but Riff managed to make out one or two words.

"I'm sure you'll make friends, Genta, despite the fact that your voice is different" he assured. This was in referral to the insecurities she had about her voice- she couldn't pronounce most things properly, particularly her W's and T's, which made her sound foreign. She had an accent as though she were from another planet. When she had consulted her mother on the matter, she had told her that the cause of this was because she had been born prematurely. 'Prematurely' was a very large word that she did not know the definition of, but she still she nodded as though she understood it. Riff saw these insecurities as utterly ridiculous. He believed that that his little sister was perfect exactly the way that she was. No matter how many times he told her this, it still never seemed to persuade her.

"I suppose…" she sighed.

"That's my girl. Don't worry, Magenta, love. Everyone's nervous on their first day of school"

Now she was convinced. She let go of his hand.

"Okay" she smiled uneasily, but she was still determined to try and have a good time at school, despite her nerves.

"Now hurry up, or we'll both be late" he feigned anger, and she laughed softly. She gave her brother a hug, and entered the classroom, telling herself not to turn back. She never did.

When Magenta entered the classroom, there were small groups of children clustered in circles all around the room, playing with dolls and other such toys. Magenta immediately grew confused. I thought school was for learning, not playing…, she thought suspiciously. All the same, she gazed around for anyone she might like to sit with. She settled with a small band of children- three boys and two girls, not really talking, but absent-mindedly playing with the toys in front of them. A lump rose in her throat very quickly as she approached the group.

"Hello" she somehow managed to say. The group looked at her without a word, and stared at her as if they were judging her from her hair to her shoes.

"Hi!"

Magenta let out a silent sigh of relief when one of the girls answered her, and rather enthusiastically at that.

"I'm Aria. What's your name?" she continued.

"I'm Magenta" Magenta smiled in a friendly manner (or at least she tried to) at Aria. She seemed to smile back, her cobalt eyes glowing with radiance.

"This is Lovisa, Cadassi, Wren and Kasper" Aria told her the names of the other children, rather bossily, Magenta observed. Magenta smiled as if to say hello. They seemed to understand.

"What are you playing?" she asked.

"We're playing houses" Cadassi responded shortly. Magenta only nodded.

"May I join you?" she tried her best to be polite. Riff had told her that if she was friendly and polite that she would make friends in no time.

"Sure "Lovisa grinned warmly "Aria's getting tired of being both the mother and the daughter, anyway"

"Thank you" Magenta said, as Lovisa handed her one of the dolls.

"Your voice is funny" Aria remarked, quite abruptly. Magenta felt a twang of nervousness in her chest.

"I know it is" Magenta mumbled softly, trying to show in her body language that she was uncomfortable with the subject.

"Were you born here?" Kasper asked, unfortunately trying to keep the subject going.

"Yes"

"Then why is your voice like that?"

"I was born pre…prematir…prematurely" Magenta was rather proud of herself for remembering the word.

"What does that mean?" Lovisa cocked her head to the side.

"It means she was born too early, dummy" Wren snapped, insultingly. Magenta wasn't sure that she'd chosen the right group. On the bright side, she now knew what prematurely meant.

They're young. I'm sure I'll grow to like them as they mature, she thought, as though she wasn't the same age of them. She was in fact the same age as them, as far as she knew- 6 years old. She just believed that she was the most mature out of the group.

At that moment, the dolls were put away, and they were all ordered to choose a table to sit at. Then, Magenta confirmed with herself that school was, in fact, for learning.

Magenta was relieved that when she returned home, her mother was safe and sound in her bed. She sprinted into her parents' bedroom when she returned home with Riff, giving her a massive hug. She returned the hug gladly, excited to hear about her daughter's first day at school.

As Magenta spoke, she stared at her lovingly, however there was still sadness masked behind her eyes.

A few short months later, however, Magenta had returned home with Riff to find that her mother wasn't there at all, and she knew exactly why. Her father had sat both her and Riff down on the end of the bed, and explained, teary eyed, that their mother had died earlier that day. Riff had tight grip on his little sister's hand as he said this. He felt very bad for his father, for he and his mother had a strong love- something that was very rare in Transylvania.

"So, your auntie Sophia will be coming here to live with us to help me look after you, and support the both of you. You're both okay with that, aren't you?"

The siblings nodded, although they both hated their auntie Sophia. Magenta just wanted her mother.

That night, Magenta slept in Riff's bed, crying softly into her brother's chest. He cried as well, but not as much as she did. They hugged each other close, attempting to comfort one another. Neither of them slept that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one because its a kind of filler chapter. Thought I might mention that I'm going to try and update every Thursday (don't quote me on that though, bc I have about 10 chapters of this on my laptop right now, so i'm not really doing that much writing per say). Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I completely forgot to do this last chapter :/ I don't own any of this, unfortunately.**

Auntie Sophia arrived less than a week later. As soon as she arrived and their father opened the door, Magenta could smell a mixture of her aunt's favourite perfume and alcohol; the two smells that always seemed to linger when she was around.

"Magenta, darling!," she exclaimed excitedly, "You've grown so much since I last saw you" she gave her niece a hug, and Magenta struggled not to gag at her aunt's strong and distinctive smell. Riff did exactly the same, pulling a face at Magenta while their father wasn't looking. She stifled a smile.

"I'm sure you remember Venus and Daria" she continued, causing Magenta to take notice of the two other children standing in the doorway. Magenta softly grinned at the two girls standing in the hallway who were attempting to smile back. They obviously weren't happy about moving.

"I am so sorry for your loss" Sophia pressed the subject "I just can't believe that Charity is dead" this sentence was aimed at her father. She didn't say these things as though she meant them; she delivered them aloofly, as though she was trying to get the subject out of the way.

"Um… why don't you kids show Daria and Venus around" their father suggested, quickly attempting to jolt away from the painful subject of his wife's death.

Magenta smiled comfortingly at her cousins, ordering them to follow her and Riff. They led the other siblings into what was Magenta's old bedroom. Two small beds had been pushed onto either side of the room, covered with blankets that looked soft and warm.

"This is where you're sleeping," Magenta said, "If you find anything that isn't yours in here, please bring it to me; this used to be my room"

The house guests nodded, and proceeded to put their belongings down, choosing a bed wordlessly. The soft voices of auntie Sophia and their father could be heard from where they were.

Daria and Venus were given a tour of the entire house, even their small jungle of a backyard which was never visited. They didn't say much, not even Venus, who was normally a bucket full of energy. They were clearly unhappy about the move.

"Don't worry," Riff assured "It's not so bad here. I understand you must be homesick, but I'm sure you'll grow fond of being here, in time"

Daria and Venus looked at Riff as though he was mad, yet they still nodded.

There were upsides to auntie Sophia moving in with them. For a start, they hardly ever saw her. She was normally locked up in her bedroom, doing God knows what. Magenta didn't know how not having a job was going to assist father very well, especially since he had recently taken to drinking himself into a daze, but Sophia persisted that she was "temporarily between engagements", as she put it.

Also, Magenta got along very well with Venus. They had much in common- they were the same age, they had the same glowing emerald gems for eyes and untamed curly hair. However, Venus' hair was strawberry blond- a trait she had inherited from her mother.

Plus, Magenta got an excuse to spend much more time with Riff now that they were sharing a bedroom. Their closeness was never something that their father understood, and their aunt didn't seem to understand it either. This was probably because of the tough incest laws that Transylvania had in place. The punishment for breaking this law was the maximum penalty- death. Despite the fact that most Transylvanians were flamboyant and proud over things that most earthlings would find extremely inappropriate, there will still limits, and this incest law was one of them. As a result of this, their father had stressed that if he ever caught them sharing a bed, he wouldn't let them share a room anymore. They never seemed to show a care for this rule, since most nights their father would stay out drinking, resulting in his return home consisting of loud bangs and clangs, along with the sounds of his muttering voice muster nonsenses, which only made sense to his alcohol-dazed mind. These nonsenses disrupted the entire household, giving Magenta just enough time to rush over to her own bed before their father loudly stomped into their bedroom to check on them, clouding the room with unwanted light that blinded their eyes. Now, this routine had become a daily occurrence. Riff had guessed that his mother's death had brought on this bizarre kind of depression his father decided to drink himself out of.

Miraculously there was still enough money to keep them on their feet, but they were hanging on by the skin of their teeth. They could still afford to buy enough food to keep everyone happy, and the proper tuition. However, if their father kept drinking at the rapid rate he was currently, that wouldn't last for long.

Magenta confided her anxiety over the matter to Lovisa, who she had grown quite close to, while they were walking to school together.

"Maybe Daria should get a job, since she's of age" she suggested.

"She already has, "Magenta groaned in reply, "She just splurges it all on herself and leaves behind hardly anything to help out"

"And then, I suppose, she complains about how much you guys are struggling"

Magenta laughed and confirmed this to be true, but made sure that Daria was out of earshot.

"How about Riff?" she tried, kicking a stone along the pavement as she walked "He's certainly smart enough for a job, despite the fact that he's not old enough"

"I suppose. He'd be prepared for getting a job, but…I'm not sure I'd like not having him around as much. Besides, Auntie Sophia said she had a job interview today" Magenta sighed, not convinced that the job interview would show any light at the end of the tunnel.

"She insists that she's getting work done, but I don't believe her one bit. All she ever does is stay locked up in her room"

"I'm sure things should get better soon, Gen, "Lovisa assured, "Once your auntie Sophia realises that you're running out of money, she'll probably try harder to get a job"

"I hope so" Magenta sighed, picking up her pace a little as she approached the school gate.

As they joined the sea of uniforms, the group absent-mindedly went their separate ways. Magenta only stopped to say goodbye to her brother, before proceeding to walk to her new classroom. She was in the same class as Lovisa that year, something which both of the girls were thankful over, since they'd practically spend pretty much a whole night with each other.

Magenta's friend group now consisted of Lovisa, Venus, Cadassi and a boy named Altos. However, Magenta was in the same class as only Cadassi and Lovisa for the coming year. Magenta had actually grown to like school, but in all her stubbornness she refused to admit this to Riff. She had a great friend group and fairly good grades, so what wasn't there to like? The only thing she didn't like was homework. She didn't understand one bit how Riff could find such an activity fun. Magenta would much rather do other things than homework, but unfortunately, she had to. Riff Raff often helped her with the homework, but she still never seemed to understand. Not that she was dumb or anything; she was actually quite a smart girl. It was just the learning that she struggled with; she had such a small attention span that she never really properly managed to listen to anything, and the fact that she always found the work boring didn't make staying on task any easier.

"Magenta… Magenta wake up"

Riff's response was a loud and exasperated groan, and the sounds of his little sister hastily rolling over in bed.

"Vhat?"

He loved when she was like this- if she were grumpy or tired, her beautiful accent stood out like a sore thumb.

"It's your birthday, remember?"

"Who cares? I'm sleeping" she snapped, and attempted to roll back over.

"Come on, Genta, wake up. Besides, I have to go out with Sophia soon. You can sleep then"

With a brash sigh, she flicked on the bedside lamp, trying her best to smile at him.

"Does it feel any different to be ten?" he grinned at her. She returned with a scowl.

"If all you're going to do is ask me stupid questions I'm going back to sleep"

Magenta was pretty much always like this when it was early in the early hours- grumpy and mean to everyone she saw. Even birds chirping out the window would aggravate her. Riff didn't mind it though.

"I'm only joking, Genta" he laughed softly, and grabbed her arm to stop her from switching off the lamp.

"I got you something" he held up a neatly wrapped parcel, rather proudly.

Her face immediately curved into a smile.

"You didn't have to do that" she told him, although she still took the parcel and carefully unwrapped it.

Her emerald eyes immediately lit up at the sight of what her brother had brought for her. It was a beautiful little toy doll. Riff had gotten her this for a gift because, no matter how many times Magenta told anybody, he knew that she had definitely not grown out of playing with dolls, and he knew that she would love this one more than any other. It had a beautiful blue gingham dress, which hung loosely off of its pale skin, and brought out its green buttons for eyes quite beautifully. It wore its long red hair in two neat braids, both of them tied off with miniature ribbons which matched the colour of the dress.

"I got it because it reminded me of you"

"Oh, Riff… I love it" she was smiling so wide that it would have been hard for anyone to believe that not even a minute earlier she had been grumpy and frowning, "Thank you"

She immediately hugged him, without another word

"I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too" he responded, without a moment's pause.

There was a long moment of silence as they hugged. This silence was neither awkward or empty, but it was perfect. It felt just right for them to sit there, hugging, and appreciate the blissful silence surrounding them. This was the first time that it really hit them that they were really and properly alone.

The sound of jingling keys and Sophia's incoherent yells for Riff to join her at the front door broke the moment.

"I have to go now. Don't forget you have to get up in 2 more hours to get up for school" he mocked lightly.

"Don't remind me please" Magenta was on the verge of becoming grumpy again.

"Do you want me to quickly leave you out something for breakfast?"

"No thanks- I should be fine to get it myself"

"Okay" he gave her a small kiss on the cheek "Bye, Genta"

"Bye, Riff"

She was asleep again before Riff had even walked out the front door.

Magenta actually had a lot of fun that day. All she could think about at school was that doll, sitting on her bed back at home, with its perfectly sewn smile and perfect dress. Magenta didn't want to take it to school, as it would be too easy to lose. Most of her day was spent brainstorming what to name her. At first, she thought she could name her Magenta, since Riff told her she reminded him of her. But, then she thought it would seem too conceited. She had settled on either Madeline or Matilda. She was leading toward Matilda, however Lovisa assured her that Madeline was a better choice.

She kept thinking about how good it was of Riff to sacrifice some of their little money for the doll. It was so perfect- imagine how much it would have cost? She couldn't even begin to say how thankful she was that she had a brother like Riff.

Another good thing about the day was that her friends threw a small party for her at lunch time. The party really caught her up on food- she had been so hungry recently that all the food her friends brought was gone by the end of lunch time. The fact that they'd thrown her a party touched her especially, since birthdays didn't really matter that much in Transsexual. She'd heard that on planets like Earth birthdays were a big deal- people actually cared that you had gotten a year older. There were large scale parties, everyone wished you a happy birthday and there was even a celebratory cake. Riff even told her that there was a whole bloody song for it. In Transsexual you were lucky to get a birthday wish from anyone other than your family. She was actually having a good day. She ended up going to Lovisa's house for dinner ( Lovisa's mother didn't even say happy birthday to Magenta even though she full well knew what the day was. See? Birthdays are just irrelevant in Transylvania). Magenta nearly slept over there as well, but she decided not to since she didn't have Riff's permission, and she wasn't sure when he'd get home.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's my Thursday update as promised 3 hope you all enjoy xx Beth**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING. :/**

The first few weeks back at school whizzed along quite smoothly. Although school was just the same routine over and over again, Magenta enjoyed it. It gave her something to fill in the innumerable amount of times,however, Magenta and Sophia would have hour long fights about her studies whenever a report came home. Sophia would scream at her that if she wanted to be successful and get a job, and help provide for the family, she had to try harder. She would put all the responsibility of making money onto the children rather than herself, the adult. Magenta often liked to mention that said adult attended space academy when she was in her 20's, and nearly made it as a Royal Guard. This always absolutely enraged her aunt, yet Magenta secretly liked it. Until the fights got longer,more verbally brutal, and even physical on some occasions. The physical part came from both of them; Sophia would hit her, and then Magenta would get angry that she hit her, so she'd hit her back… no matter what happened, when it ended, Magenta would be dragged into her room, the door locked behind her, and told not to come out unless her studies were finished. This was only for a couple of hours, though, until her father returned home and let her out. These fights were getting more regular, and it was getting so bad that Riff was being treated similarly; being yelled at to help his sister more, and take more responsibility over the family. Of course, Riff was too passive and scared to yell back, so he would just kind of hang his head and take it. The house was just like a massive whirlwind of fights; Sophia would yell at her brother whenever he came home drunk, which caused her to yell at Magenta and then to yell at Riff Raff when Magenta wasn't delivering with her studies. The Vitus siblings were incredibly exhausted by it all; if only their Aunt understood that leaving them alone would help their studies more, not only because it puts much less pressure on the both of them, but also since Magenta basically does everything out of spite. But then, everything started to go downhill.

On the first anniversary of her mother's death, their father committed suicide. Magenta wasn't very surprised over this, but she was still angry and distraught that her father was no longer alive. Magenta was therefore in a larger state of worry, as now her auntie had four children to support, and no job. She hoped that Sophia would get it into her brain that she needed to get up off her ass and do something.

Magenta was in a state of de ja vu the night their father had died. She was curled up next to Riff in their bed, sobbing in both sadness and worry. The fact that they were sharing a bed was a harsh reminder that their father was dead. They no longer worried over being caught.

"Don't cry," he comforted, planting a heartfelt kiss on her head, "Please", he closed his eyes in pain of hearing his sister cry.

She clung onto him tighter.

"I'm vorried," she whispered with a faltering voice, her accent standing out, "Vhat vill become of us?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's no way that auntie Sophia will be able to support all four of us. It's impossible"

"I'm sure she'll find a way, Genta" he assured her, although he agreed with her opinion. He just didn't want her to worry. Magenta knew he was lying, but she still nodded, and nestled in closer to him.

"I love you, Genta," he whispered, "Everything will be fine"

All she could manage to do was nod, and give him a kiss on the cheek.

He smiled, and kissed her back.

"We should probably get some sleep"

"Okay," she agreed, although she didn't predict there to be any sleep for her in the near future "Goodnight, Riff. I love you"

"I love you too"

And they both nestled under the covers. Not even thirty seconds had passed when Magenta whispered,

"Riff…I can't sleep"

Riff sighed, and said,

"Neither can I"

There was a moment of silence.

"Auntie Sophia was talking about a funeral" Riff brought up the only topic that was drilling into his mind.

"I doubt she'll go through with that. There wasn't one for mother, so why should there be one for him?" she sighed bitterly, suddenly longing for her mother to be with her.

"I miss her too, Genta" Riff sensed this longing deep within her. They had always seemed to be able to do that- sense each other's feelings. Magenta would have a headache, and, without her saying so, something could draw Riff in closer to kiss her on the head. Riff would have a bad day, and somehow Magenta knew this, and precisely why his day had been bad. It was strange, but they supposed that it was some sort of strange sibling connection.

"Can…can we talk about something else?" she asked timidly.

"Of course" he knew she would say that.

"What do you want to be when you get older?" she asked, out of the blue, in a very child-like manner.

"A scientist" he answered quickly "As always. I thought you knew that, sister?"

"I did, I just wanted to see if it had changed" she explained.

"How about you?"

"A rich, society aristocrat" she answered sophisticatedly, putting on an adorable posh accent.

"Oh really?" he asked, in the same manner.

"Yes," she laughed "I'll live in a big mansion with lots of money and plenty of servants" she envisioned.

"And how do you suppose you'll manage that?" he inquired.

"I…don't know," her shoulders dropped," I'll figure it out eventually" she pushed a large strand of hair which had fallen rebelliously from her ponytail back behind her ear.

"I'm sure you will" he agreed, with a nod.

She smiled as he absent-mindedly played with her hair.

"You'll live there too "she added

"Of course I will" he answered, as though it were obvious.

"Helping me make millions of credits with all of you scientific experiments"

"Oh, so that's how you'll get all of your money. From me" he said, poking her in the stomach.

"Who else?" she giggled, from the tickle of his skin against hers. The only time Magenta ever giggled was when she was being tickled. Ever. The conversation came to a lull.

"Not to sound conceited, but I'm okay at art" she brought up.

"What type of art?" he asked, with a smile.

"Drawing, painting…that sort of thing, "she sighed, in an attempted to sound nonchalant, "I suppose I could do something like that. None of that intellectual stuff seems to interest me"

"If that's what you're interested in, then you should do it" he encouraged.

"But it will change, I suppose…I remember at one stage you wanted to be a chef" she smirked, at the fuzzy darkness that surrounded her.

"Oh, shut up," he snapped jokingly. She smiled, and slipped in and out of silent laughter.

"Why am I called 'Magenta'?" she wondered

"Don't you like that name?" he asked, slightly offended.

"No, I love my name," she assured,whole-heartedly" That's why I'm asking"

"Oh, good," Riff sighed in relief, "Because I was the person who gave you your name"

"How come you never told you that?" she nearly snapped.

"I never thought to bring it up…"

"No matter," she dismissed, "Why did you choose that name?"

"When you were born, your hair was bright-pink, nearly like magenta, that's why. Your hair doesn't look that way anymore, sadly, but it did then. I think I nearly was going to name you Rosie" he remembered.

Magenta screwed up her small nose in disgust

"I'm glad you didn't call me that," she chimed. Riff laughed softly at her attitude toward the name.

"Magenta is perfect for you anyway" he complimented.

She didn't say anything, but smiled up at him. He smiled back.

"Why are you called Riff Raff?" she wondered.

After a slight pause, he answered,

"I believe it was because of my undesirable appearance when I was born" he explained, nearly painfully.

Magenta keeled over with laughter.

"What?"

"It's just funny," she explained breathlessly "I can just imagine you as a baby, looking all unkempt and grubby"

"I guess I just looked scruffy…"he mumbled, red faced, "Besides, people change"

"I can see that"

He half grimaced, half smiled at her infectious laughter.

"Don't worry, brother. You're very handsome, now" she kissed his cheek.

Slowly, the conversation fell dead and, even more slowly, the pair of them fell into a dreamless sleep.

Auntie Sophia had managed to find a lousy job with minimal pay. It wasn't much, but a job was a job, and it was better than nothing. But they were still struggling. Daria had stopped going to school (temporarily, Sophia insisted) to help save them money. If they weren't careful, Riff would be next.

It turned out that there was a funeral for their father. The funeral attendants included long lost cousins, aunties, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents and 'friends'. Magenta could have sworn that at least 77% of them she had never met. There were more people at the funeral than Magenta expected there to be, as most of the people were friends and family of both her father and her mother.

It was a small funeral, but a good one. Funerals were a time of celebration on Transsexual. In other planets, like Earth or Adabel, they were morbid times. Everyone wore black, and marched along a cemetery. On Transsexual, however, it was common for funerals to be fun, more like a party, to celebrate that the dead person had reached the afterlife.

However, Magenta nor Riff had fun. All the relatives they met commented on how tall they had gotten, or how long it had been since they'd seen them or, oh my, what handsome blue eyes Riff Raff had. Because neither of the siblings were very close with their relatives, it was basically a living hell for them. Instead of celebrating their father's life, they were making small talk with distant relatives, and worrying about everything. Worrying because of money, worrying because of auntie Sophia's constant bitter mood, over Daria and Venus' recent strange behaviour. Things were bad, and they weren't going to get better.

"Are you alright?" Magenta asked Venus one night, on the way to school.

"Oh, I'm fine" Venus replied, with a forced smile. Something was definitely wrong. Magenta forced herself to believe that Venus was just worried about things, just the same as she was. A year passed, and nothing changed, with no hope of it doing so anytime soon.

"Magenta, wake up"

She was rudely awoken by a pair of hands shaking her. She opened her emerald eyes to see Riff, the first person she saw each morning.

"Good morning, brother" Magenta mumbled, groggily stretching and rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Morning," he smiled, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Chocolate Stars, please," she requested her favourite cereal, for the third consecutive day.

"Why did I bother asking?" a smirk tugged at his lips.

They raced each other out into the kitchen, pretending to be airplanes and making motor noises. Riff won the race. He picked his laughing little sister up by the waist and spun her around once, forcing her to laugh even louder and forcefully kick her legs. Riff sat her down on the counter and began making her breakfast.

"Has aunt Sophia left yet?" Riff asked.

"Yeah, I heard her leave" Magenta confirmed.

"Good, we don't want her to be late again"

"She'd probably get fired" Magenta sighed, in a motherly fashion.

Riff handed her the cereal, and she began shovelling it into her mouth, keeping her spot on top of the counter. Riff propped himself up next to her. They both stared at the topaz coloured moon that was slowly rising in the sky.

"Why aren't the other two awake yet?" Magenta wondered, in between mouthfuls.

"Maybe they didn't hear me knock on their door earlier…" Riff supposed.

"I'll go and check on them" Magenta put her cereal down and sauntered to Venus and Daria's door.

"Time to wake up, you guys" she rapped against the tired wood, and was answered by hollow silence. Normally, there was a quiet, tired groan or an 'okay', but, this morning, nothing.

Magenta slowly peeked through the door. The lights were off, the beds made and the room empty of all belongings, apart from a small envelope on top of Daria's bed. Her face turned a sickly colour as she approached the envelope, opening it with shaky hands.

By the time she had read the contents of the envelope, she was just standing there, blankly staring as a curious Riff entered the room to make sure everything was okay.

"They're gone," she explained, softly, "They left us some money, but…they're gone"

"Let me see that" he took the note from her and speedily read through it. Riff didn't say anything when he was finished, but he counted the money.

"500," he told her, "500 credits"

"Oh, god…" Magenta panicked. This was nowhere near enough money. "I don't believe it" Magenta continued, in a breathless awe that made her feel like she was going to be sick.

Riff felt just the same. He was only 12 years old. How was he going to be able to look after Magenta, unassisted? How could someone so young take care of someone else even younger?

Both because he knew that Magenta was thinking the same as he was, and out of wanting comfort, he stepped forward and gave her a hug.

"Oh, Riff," she whispered. After a long and bitter silence, Riff ordered,

"Don't tell anyone that they're gone. You know what they do to orphans"

She nodded, biting her lip and clinging to him for support.

"Oh, Riff, I'm scared" she whimpered. He shut his eyes and held onto her tighter.

"So am I"


End file.
